Germany, Norway open offshore wind farm in Baltic Sea

The official opening of the Arkona offshore wind farm attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Norwegian Petroleum and Energy Minister Kjell-Borge Freiberg was held Tuesday to supply renewable energy to hundreds of thousands of households.

The facility located on the German island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea, 35 kilometers northeast of Germany, started power supply to the German national grid in September 2018. Having 60 wind turbines, each producing six megawatts (MW), the wind farm reached peak production in 2019 and has a total capacity of 385 MW.

With an investment of €1.2 billion, Arkona can save up to 1.2 million tons of carbon emissions annually compared to conventionally generated electricity.

"The wind farm has the capacity to supply renewable energy to 400,000 German homes," Equinor’s Chairman Jon Erik Reinhardsen, who attended the ceremony, said in a statement.

"Equinor is already meeting 25% of Germany’s need for natural gas," he added.

The farm is Equinor's fourth to come online since 2012 and is operated by German energy firm E.ON in collaboration with Equinor. The Norwegian energy firm also has stakes in the Baltyk I, II and III wind farm projects in the Polish sector of the Baltic Sea.